


Undercover

by appleblossom2



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2792039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appleblossom2/pseuds/appleblossom2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grant Ward considers just how much Skye has affected his life after she's been shot by Quinn.  (Yes I really suck at summaries for stories.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Undercover

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place between _T.A.H.I.T.I_ and _Yes Men._

Undercover  
by Apple Blossom

**Disclaimer:** _Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D_ belongs to Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Stan Lee, ABC, Marvel Television, Mutant Enemy, and anyone else who wants to lay claim to it. 

She was still confined to the medical pod under Jemma Simmons' orders but for Grant Ward that made it easier to check on her when he couldn't sleep. It was early morning and with the exception of the humming of the engines, the plane was quiet. He stood staring through the large observation window on the side of the pod watching as she slept peacefully, her mouth open slightly as her head listed to the left. Her iPod lay on the bed next to her, the white cord of the headphones snaking up either side of her face. The left ear bud was still firmly in place but the right looked like it was trying to escape and briefly Ward wondered what type of music helped lull Skye to sleep at night.

Involuntarily his mind wandered back to the day that she was shot. Knowing she was inside with Quinn worried him from the moment they arrived on the compound but seeing the blood stains on the business man's hands and hearing him tell Coulson that he should stop sending her into dangerous situations was enough to make him worry about her safety. Ward had searched the main floor as FitzSimmons took the upper floors and Coulson headed for the basement. Hearing his boss' strangled cry for Simmons, Ward's worst fears came true. When he rushed into the room the first thing he noticed was the blood. There was so much of it on the floor and the smell of it lingered in the air as his eyes followed the trail to Skye, laying unconscious in Coulson's arms. Her skin was gray, a thick crimson trail escaping from her mouth as the stain of it continued to creep across her blouse.

_What in the world was Garrett thinking?_ Ward wondered, feeling anger build up inside of him as he thought of his friend and mentor. The only person who had ever cared for him. At least until he had joined Coulson's team. He had tried to stay detached from the group but it was impossible not to feel something for each of them. They had restored a little bit of humanity within his soul and he worried constantly about the day when Hydra decided to step out of the shadows and into the light. He would betray them then. His secret would be out and he knew that the sting of his actions would be made worse with every memory he made with this team. Before he was reassigned Ward hadn't been too worried about it. He's been undercover once for over sixteen months. He'd done his job and been indifferent to the people he had interacted with but this time it was different. He couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment that he had fallen in love with her, but the thought of her dying - of Quinn pulling the trigger and worse, Garrett ordering it - was like a knife in his heart, twisting slowly, painfully, tearing him apart from the inside until he felt like nothing was going to be left.

A noise caught his attention and he realized it was one of the machines still monitoring Skye's vitals. Everything seemed normal. Surprising since she had been at death's door only days ago. That miracle drug, whatever it was, seemed to have been the right answer, although even that led to another horrible memory involving the woman he knew he loved.

Simmons was doing CPR when he and Fitz arrived and she seemed to hesitate before giving the dying girl the drug. But she was flat lining, out of time and out of options, and then Jemma injected her with the serum. Skye's body convulsed angrily, her back arching off the bed as her head tilted back and the machines screamed in protest. An agonizing moment later she dropped back to the bed as if nothing had ever happened and even though Skye was still unconscious the machines read outs were at normal levels. 

Tripp had said Skye was a fighter and Ward agreed. 

Her eyes were moving quickly underneath her eyelids and instantly Ward knew she was having a nightmare. Her heart rate was rising on the monitor and without thinking he hurried around to the entrance of the medical pod and to her side. 

"Help," she whispered, her voice soft and far away and Ward brushed her forehead with the back of his hand as he leaned closer to her. One hand involuntarily went to her stomach and he knew she was reliving the moment she'd been shot in her dreams. 

"It's okay," Ward whispered back, pulling the headphones from her ears so she could hear him. "You're safe now."

When he looked back to her face he could see she was waking up. Her eyes met his and she smiled as she saw him. "Hey." 

"Hey," he replied. "I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep." 

"Okay," she answered sleepily and a moment later her eyes closed. He continued to brush her hair back from her face long after he knew she was asleep but he wasn't ready to leave her yet. He would have to soon. Simmons would be angry with him if she thought that he had disturbed her patient's sleep so regretfully he leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead and then near her cheek where he whispered, "Sleep well." 

He left her then, finally feeling like he could sleep once his head hit the bunk. He knew he would dream of her, like he often did, and he hoped it would be something good and not the memories of almost losing her that followed him into his slumber that night. He tried to remind himself of better times with her. Playing Battleship a million times. Teaching her how to defend herself. Remembering how her body felt against his when she was trying to disarm him. The way she took care of him when he'd held the _Berserker_ staff and the memories of his younger brother - and worse, his older brother - were overwhelming him. 

Ward made it to his bunk and slipped underneath the covers, closing his eyes. Things were moving too fast. Garrett's plan was in motion. Hydra's plan was a little bit more unclear to him, but he felt like it would be soon now and he wished he could just stop time and spend it with her. How had he let this happen? How had she become more important than Hydra? Maybe even more important than Garrett. He barely knew her yet he would die for her. He would kill for her. 

He loved her. 

The end


End file.
